The Jets’ front office was very active this offseason, adding defensive players.
Last year’s Jets defense had a lot of holes.
They signed defensive ends Joseph Ossai and Kingley Engabare, along with defensive tackle David Onyemata, and also traded for defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat. So, it’s possible they could come out in Week 1 with four new starters on their defensive line. Of course, they could add an edge-rusher with the second pick overall, who will be in the mix to start.
They signed linebacker Demario Davis and traded for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who will both start and help sure up the middle of the Jets defense, along with Onyemata and Sweat.
Also added were free agent safety Dane Belton and cornerback Nahshon Wright, who will challenge for starting jobs.
But even with all these defensive additions, the Jets’ work on fixing their defense is far from over, and they still have a lot of work to do in the draft.
Aside from likely picking an edge-rusher at 2, they also desperately need an instinctive coverage linebacker to team with Davis.
One of their first four picks should probably be a linebacker if the value board matches up with the need. Texas Tech’s Jacob Rodriguez at 44 could be perfect.
They could also use a safety with elite instincts. Not saying the Jets should pick Oregon’s Dillon Thieneman at 16, but they need to think about it. Man, do they need a young safety like this – a ballhawk with top-shelf instincts.
They also need another game-wrecking defensive tackle (Sweat, Onyemata, and Phillips are each only locked up for one year). The Jets could also use another cornerback.
So don’t think for one second they are all set on defense because of how active they were in free agency on that side of the ball. Half the guys they signed could end up being rotational players and/or quality backups.
Defense should be in play with at least three of the four of their four premium draft picks in the first two rounds.
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